I'll get this started...playing a BSU team with the same record as the Pilots but with a much more difficult schedule. 2 losses to #11 Arizona and 1 to #3 Michigan State. They had a heartbreaking loss by 2 at Montana State.

Um, the second time was just the recurring bad memory of their only actual game against UA, a 9 point loss at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Hey, don't give 2002Pilot a bad time over the wording of his post....it was his first one, and it's very, very welcome!!!

Welcome aboard 2002Pilot, we look forward to reading more of your informative posts.....

OBTW, it is (strongly) rumored that next year UP will be playing in the Thanksgiving tournament in the Honda Center vs. the likes of Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and a few others. Originally the Pilots were headed to Anchorage for Thanksgiving, but Anaheim does seem a better locale for the team and fans.

DoubleDipper wrote:OBTW, it is (strongly) rumored that next year UP will be playing in the Thanksgiving tournament in the Honda Center vs. the likes of Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and a few others. Originally the Pilots were headed to Anchorage for Thanksgiving, but Anaheim does seem a better locale for the team and fans.

OBTW, it is (strongly) rumored that next year UP will be playing in the Thanksgiving tournament in the Honda Center vs. the likes of Texas A&M, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and a few others. Originally the Pilots were headed to Anchorage for Thanksgiving, but Anaheim does seem a better locale for the team and fans.

Considering how well we did last time I made the trip to Anaheim, I may need to do it again.

I'm assuming you got better confirmation than that first guy you heard it from

Pomeroy rates the Broncos at #62 in the nation (UP is #193), and Coach Leon Rice, now in his 6th year at BSU, is highly respected for his coaching acumen and has taken his team to the NCAA Tournament twice in the last three years.

up7587 wrote:Coach Jackson mentioned that the Broncos push the pace, and will be a stiff challenge for the Pilots.

Yeah, BSU uses an average of 15.9 seconds per possession, but UP averages only 14.7 seconds, the 17th quickest triggers in the nation to this point....but what really matters is how a team uses those possessions.

UP averages 72.4 possessions per game and 102.9 points per 100 possessions. BSU, on the other hand, averages 70.6 possessions per game and 108.2 points per 100 possessions.

Stats can be fun, but what will be more fun is a Pilots victory against BSU, regardless of the number of possessions or points.

Remember, UP will have a special pre-game recognition honoring Bill Johnson prior to Saturday night's tip-off….so we may want to arrive a little earlier than usual.

Just a reminder... if anyone forgets their username or password, you can message me on this site (via the "Contact" link on the bottom right corner) or send an e-mail to "pilot.nation at yahoo dot com" (no spaces in that, I wrote it that way for spam defense), I can easily look that information up, reset your password, change your username, etc.... I may not be able to respond immediately, but I will get to it ASAP!

Definitely a fun game to watch, IMO. Last year's team may end up having a better record, but this team is much more what UP basketball should be about.....up tempo and pushing the basketball.

Wonderful late game energy from Jazz on both ends and from Colin on defense, but Philipp, Gabe, and Jarrell really never got into the rhythm of the game on offense and were limited in their effectiveness on the defensive end.

Tied at 69 with 4 minutes remaining, the experience, maturity and speed of BSU just took over.

No, they did not break the 155 over/under as I predicted....UP's legs were just too tired toward the end to make shots that earlier in the game were going in.

The Pilots have nothing to hang their heads about....and there is no time for that anyway with Idaho St. coming to the Chiles Center on Tuesday. UP should be favored in that game, but it is "dead week" with finals coming the following week, so it's going to be a balancing act between study and practice and playing for a couple of weeks.